Sign



Jully 27 1926.,

E.N.MARWN SIGN Filed Oct. 19,

Patented July 27, 1926.

EARL NEWTON MARTIN, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

SIGN'.

Application led October 19, 1925. Serial No. 83,290.

This invention relates to signs of thatl kind having a substantially plane support on which letters, figures or other symbols are detachably secured for the purpose of enabling the sign to be changed at frequent intervals. A slgn of this kind is desirable for use, for example, at gasoline stations for indicating the price of this product and which must be'changed from time to time in accordance with the fluctuations of the market. The signs for this and similar purposes no w in use are not entirely satisfactory as some are too expensive for general use, while others are so constructed that they are troublesome to adjust and are not weatherproof and soon deteriorate.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved sign of the character stated of practical and simple construction, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and which is ru ged, durable and weatherproof.

Other objects are to-construct asign of this kind comprising a substantially plane supporting member and a plurality of detachable and interchangeable characters or symbols, or character or symbol bearing elements so formed that said characters may be arranged on opposite sides of said member so that the desired price or information is visible from opposite sides of the sign; also to so form said member and construct said characters, that the characters on one side of the supporting member are adapted to interfit with the characters at the opposite side thereof so that the characters are detachably maintained on the supporting member by parts of the characters themselves; also to construct the sign so that the characters at one side of the supporting member are interchangeable with each other and will interfit with any character on the other side of said member; and also to improve and simplify signs of the sort referred to in other respects hereinafter specified and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing one embodiment of my improved sign.

Fig. 2 is a vertical, transverse section thereof, on an enlarged scale on line 2 2, Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views of one form of a pair of characters or symbols provided with the complementary intertting parts for detachably securing them to the supporting member of the sign.

.Fig 5 1s a fragmentary view, similar to F1g. 2, showing the way in which the upper portlons of two opposed characters are assembled on the supporting member.

F1g. is a fragmentary 'face view of a supporting member arranged to support two rows of the detachable characters or elements, and showing one of said characters in place thereon.

Ihe sign shown in the drawings comprises a supporting member 10 and a plurahty of detachable characters, such as ppmerals, letters or other symbols 11 and ln accordance with the invention the snpporting member 10 is provided with a plurahty of slits or apertures 12, and the characters, which may be formed of any suitable material such as cast metal, or sheet metal stampings, having flatrear faces 13, 13, are provided with rearwardly extending interfitting parts adapted to cooperate with the apertures 12 in the member 10 and constitute the means for detachably and interchangeably securing the characters in place on the sign.

For this purpose some of the characters,

for instance the characters 11, are provided with substantially horizontal lugs 14 projecting rearwardly from their rear faces 13 and each of which has a hole or aperture 15 formed therein. The projections 14 are adapted to fit fairly snugly in the apertures 12 with the rear faces 18 of the characters substantially in contact with a face/ of the member 10, and so that the holes 15 are located outwardly beyond but adjacent to the opposite face of said member. The other characters 11a are provided with parts which interfit with the apertured lugs or projections of the characters 11, such as the hooks or fingers which are formed with downwardly extending ends 17 which are adapted to be passed into the holes 15, and rearwardly extending portions 18 integral therewith, which rest on the to faces of the projections 14 and support t e characters 11a in position on the adjacent face of the sign, while the end/ parts 17 of the hooks efectually prevent thje other characters 11 at the opposite side of the si n from becoming detached. While the c aracters 11,

` tachment of each palr of characters 11.,

11, or several of these parts may be provided, according to the size of the characters.

It will be noted that the apertures 12 are in both horizontal and vertical alinement, and the projections 14 and hooks 16 are equally spaced on their respectiye characters 11, 11a so that, by thus forming the sign with interfitting parts arranged on centers common to all the characters, the characters are readily interchangeable for the purpose of forming different groupings. As .shown in Fig. 1, the amount 24 is shown 1n Jfull lines on one face of the member 10, while the same amount is displayed on the other face, as shown by broken lines.

A member 10a is shown is Fig. 6, having two sets of apertures 12 arranged in double rows, with one character in place thereon, to illustrate the adaptability of the invention to the production of signs of any length of a character necessitating frequent change, as for instance, theater announcements and the like.

A sign produced as described above is practical and inexpensive to make, and is adapted to be quickly changed when desired, and the formation of the cooperating parts enables the desired information to be displayed so that it is visible from opposite directions. Moreover the sign, when intended for use out of doors, can be made of durable and weatherproof materials so as to last almost indefinitely. For instance the supporting member may be in the form of an enamelled metal plate and the characters may be likewise formed in a contrasting color, or may be made of non-corroding metals, while for indoor use the sifrn mav be formed of lighter substances, suoli as fiber, Celluloid or aluminum.

I claim as my invention 1.- A sign of the character described, comprising a supporting member, and a plurality of separate character or symbol meml bers, said character members having interlocking means adapted to connect said members together in pairs back to back, and said supporting member having parts with which said interlocking means on said character members are adapted to cooperate to detachably and interchangeably support said' members on said supporting member.

2. In a sign of the character described a supporting member, and a pair of character members, one of said character members having a part adapted to intei't with a part on said supporting member for detachably securing said character member to said support, and said other character member having a part adapted to releasably engage said rst character member, whereby said character members are releasably maintained on said supporting member so as to be displayed at opposite sides thereof.

3. A sign of the character described, comprising a supportin member formed with a plurality of space apertures, and a plurality of separate character or symbol members provided with interitting means for detachably connecting said character mem- Abers together in pairs back to back, and

said interitting means being adapted to cooperate with said apertures in said supporting member to detachably and interchangeably support said character members in pairs with one character member of each pair displayed on each side of the supporting member.

4. In a sign of the character described, a substantially plane supporting member, and a pair of character or symbol members, said supporting member being formed with an aperture therein, and said character members having an interfitting connection adapted to pass through said aperture, and providing quick detachable means for su porting and displaying one of said pair o character members on each side of said supporting member.

5. In a sign of the character described, a substantially plane supporting member, and a pair of character or symbol members, said supporting member being formed with an aperture therein, one of said character members having a rearwardly extending projection formed with a hole and adapted to pass through said aperture in said supportingmember, and said other character member having a part adapted to engage in said hole in said projection of said other character member, whereby said pair of character members is detachably connected and is displayed at opposite sides of said supporting member.

6. In a sign of the character described, a. substantially plane supporting member, and a pair of character or symbol members, said supporting member being formed with an aperture therein, one of said character members being adapted to lie against one side of said supporting member and having a projection formed with a hole and adapted to pass through said aperture in said supporting member with said hole exposed at the opposite side of said member, and said other character member being adapted to lie adjacent said opposite side of said supporting n@ of saidsup Irtin member.

member and having a part adapted to ena character at one side of said supporting gage in said hole lin said projection, whereby member, and securing another of said charsaid character members are detachably conacters at the other side of said member so 10 f nected to, and are displayed 'at opposite sides as to engage vsaid rst mentioned character and secure said characters together and to 7. A met cd c securing characters cn a -said supportmg member.

supporting member consisting of securing EARL NEWTON MARTIN. 

